Minimalism movement - Essay Example

Minimalism: Minimalism is the of an advanced movement which started in the world of music to popularize the use of very short and simple phrases. All minimalistic compositions share a same feature which is related to repetition of phrases. Minimal music is now widely known as an aesthetic technique of music standing in contrast to the days when it was struggling to find a footing when it was better recognized as experimental form of music. It came into existence in the 1960s in New York and advocated a new approach to music based on repetition of musical phrases, phase shifting, steady pulse, and consonance. Many people mistakenly associate minimalism with the art of painting, while truth is that this principle has been applied for many years now in musical compositions created by a broad range of artists including Steve Reich, John Adams, Arvo Paert, Terry Riley and others. Actually, any art form that makes use of simple or basic elements to give an uncluttered sense to art can be considered minimalistic in nature. Discussion presented in this essay seeks to analyze three popular pieces to identify examples of different minimalistic techniques used in them. These three pieces are composed by Steve Reich, John Adams, and Arvo Paert. Piano Phase by Reich is a critically acclaimed musical piece which was composed in 1967. Reich by that time had an established reputation as one of the most minimalistic composers in America. He is accredited for championing the minimal music movement in the late 1960s. There are many minimalistic techniques clearly noticeable in Piano Phase. For example, one such technique becomes apparent when the performers employ the feature of repetitive phrases. Fragments of music are recycled “in a repeated pattern” (Candelaria & Kingman 2011, p. 280). A twelve-note melodic figure is repeated again and again which creates a hypnotic effect on the listeners. Another example based on the repetition of structures which serves to create a sense of order and beauty is found when the players deliberately repeat the sequence of speeding up and then locking in. This sequence or cycle is repeated throughout the musical piece. This cycle starts with one player speeding up the tempo followed by another player resuming the previous tempo. This is repeated three times in Piano Phase. In Reich’s own words, he discovered the technique with the greatest aesthetic appeal when he simply let fragments “shift out of phase with each other” (Reich, cited in Candelaria & Kingman 2011, p. 280). In Piano Phase, Reich for the first time experimented with his phasing technique which is one of the key features of the minimalistic music. The intention was to lend a sense of seamlessness and simplicity to music. In phasing, the same phrase is played on two different pianos or musical instruments in a steady pulse (Manaris & Brown 2014, p. 93). This technique typically starts with two instruments shifting out of unison and finally coming back into unison (Hurry et al. 2001, p. 306). Reich popularized this technique through Piano Phase by using two pianos to deal with repetition and rhythmic change. This is because the performers first repeat a twelve-note melodic figure in unison and then they gradually shift out of unison with one performer speeding up and the other locking in. Finally, the two players come back into unison. The tempi of both pianos are also almost identical which makes Piano Phase a very good early example of minimalistic music. Christian Zeal and Activity is another musical piece composed by the American composer John Adams in 1973. This piece has also received critical acclaim for advancing the movement of minimalism in music. It is one of the earliest and simplest minimalist compositions of Adams. The original 1973 composition is based on an unencumbered instrumental arrangement of a Christian hymn and an on-air conversation between a host and a listener (Strovas 2012). This piece is recognized for its fragmented nature, a steady pulse, repetitive rhythmic phrases, and harmonic stability. Christian Zeal is a very good example of Adams’ exploration into the application of minimalistic technique. Here, he combines a hymn based on rich and harmonized chords with a “tape of repeated phrases of a sermon on the power of faith healing” (Gutmann 2001). Instead of deconstructing the verbiage like other minimalist composers like Reich, Adams relies on repetition of musical phrases. Finding himself trapped between modernism and tradition, he found relief in minimalism of which Christian Zeal is a very interesting example. Impressed by the minimalist avant-garde, he recognizes minimalism in this musical piece by using simple elements to create “a steady background pulse, repetitive motifs and stable harmonic areas” (Gutmann 2001). In Adams’ own words, the harmonies in Christian Zeal are meant to create a hypnotic effect to make the listeners “float in a kind of dream polyphony” (Adams, cited in Sachs 2013). This piece takes a turn from conventional minimalist approach used by other famous composers like Reich and instead seems to be dealing with the concern of inventing music which is both innovative and adherent to common minimalist features. Christian Zeal is a very influential outcome of this approach because it burst with the energy created by harmonic movement of familiar minimalist features (Sachs 2013). Research also confirms that this musical piece is one of the most powerful and richest compositions to ever come from American minimalism (Halsey 1992, p. 1). Christian Zeal is noted for Adams’ surrender “to the late 1970s pull of repetitive music” (Cook & Pople 2004, p. 544). It is characterized by one of the key features of minimalism which is related to the use of graceful slow-motion string melody. Fur Alina is a piano work composed in 1976 by Arvo Part which can be considered a beautiful example of his minimalist work. Part has only worked in minimalist fashion since the late 70s. He introduced the technique of tintinnabuli to the world through his piece titled Fur Alina because it was the first time he used it in any of his works (Hillier 1997, p. 77). Two kinds of voices are used in tintinnabuli music and there is also use of slow tempi signifying a minimalist approach to music. Simple and graceful harmonies form the bedrock of tintinnabuli music as is evident from Fur Alina as well which make the listeners automatically think of the ringing bells (Guardian News 2012). Another minimalist example found in Fur Alina becomes obvious when the patterns inside harmony are analyzed. These patterns are rhythmically simple which is a key characteristic of minimalist works. A simple rising and falling octave scale forms the theme of Fur Alina (Hillier 1997, p. 103). Also, tempi are not changed during the music which makes Fur Alina a very good example of Part’s tintinnabuli style. Part has always remained interested in harmonic simplicity and in the form of Fur Alina, he manages to accomplish a big feat. This is because in a two and a half minute piano composition called Fur Alina, ringing of the bells or the tintinnabuli effect creates an influential effect on the listeners. Research claims that the score of Fur Alina shows “Pärt at his most naked minimalism” (Gillikin 2014). An important minimalist technique used in this piece is related to the tempo marking which is so peaceful that it appears to “imply a slow tempo while politely declining to say how slow” (Gillikin 2014). The simplicity of Fur Alina is often labeled deceptive because while it may seem simple enough to play, it still includes such delicate patterns that performing this piece well requires “the patience of age” (Gillikin 2014). This work cannot be characterized as a mundane and cliché example of minimalism because it hides within itself the power of tintinnabulation and apparent simplicity of the composition (Guardian News 2012). References: Candelaria, L & Kingman, D 2011, American Music: A Panorama, Cengage Learning. Cook, N & Pople, A 2004, The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Music, Cambridge University Press. Gillikin, B 2014, The Complete Beauty of Arvo Pärt’s “Für Alina”, viewed 09 May 2015, Guardian News 2012, ‘A guide to Arvo Pärt’s music’, The Guardian, viewed 09 May 2015, Gutmann, P 2001, John Adams: Popularity without Pandering, viewed 09 May 2015, Halsey, R 1992, Best Rated CDs: Classical, Peri Press. Hillier, P 1997, Arvo PÄrt, Oxford University Press. Hurry, P, Phillips, M & Richards, M 2001, Heinemann Advanced Music, Heinemann. Manaris, B & Brown, AR 2014, Making Music with Computers: Creative Programming in Python, CRC Press. Sachs, E 2013, John Adams – The Chairman Dances, viewed 03 May 2015, Strovas, SM 2012, Musical Aesthetics and Creative Identification in Two Harmonielehren by John Adams and Arnold Schoenberg, viewed 09 May 2015, Read More